Sonobuoy dispenser



Sept. 1970 c. FREEMAN AL 3,529,745

SONOBUOY DISPENSER Filed July 25, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Cl.IFFORD L. FREEMAN W/L L IAM R E DWA R05 ZJZQ/ AGENT Se t. 22, 1970 c. L.FREEMAN ETAL 3,529,745 SONOBUOY DISPENSER Filed July 25, 1968 3Sheets-Shqet 2 H 4 I I F I l 1' I 27 W W 26", i I I N i i I o "I I I l Iq @1223 ""1 "'lm "u' 7 I 25 ,4 34a %0 34 FIG. 3

ANB' DROP SONOBUOY CHUTES FIG. 7

Sept. 22, 1970 c; FREEMAN ETAL 3,529,745

SONOBUOY DISPENSER Filed July 25, 1968 s Sheets-$heet 3' FIG. 4

United States Patent 3,529,745 SONOBUOY DISPENSER Clifford L. Freeman,Alexandria, Va., and William R.

Edwards, California, Md., assignors to the United States of America asrepresented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed July 25, 1968, Ser. No.750,425 Int. Cl. B64d ]/06 US. Cl. 22190 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A dispenser for sonobuoys, or the like, having a number ofparallel, vertically extending slots, or channels, each slot to house asonobuoy. At the bottom of each slot is an electrically operated latchwhich opens a bottom door thereby permitting the sonobuoy to slide outof the slot by gravity.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may bemanufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States ofAmerica for governmental purposes without the payment of any royaltiesthereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to articledispensing and more particularly to a dispenser for ejecting sonobuoys,underwater sound sources, or depth charges, and the like, from anaircraft.

During World War II when enemy submarine activity played a predominantpart in the conflict there developed as a defense against this enemyaction a number of antisubmarine warfare defenses. For example, therewere developed a number of passive listening systems, such as anchoredhydrophone, or other listening devices placed aboard moored buoys, whichwere connected by electric cable to equipment on shore to give a warningif there was submarine activity in the neighborhood. Also, an intensiveunderwater sound listening campaign was carried on by our own submarinesin their monitoring and surveillance of the ocean bottom. On the otherhand, in the air, patrols were maintained by lighter-than-air aircraft,such as blimps, and long-range amphibious craft which constantly scannedthe ocean for silhouettes, oil slicks or bubble streams which wereindicative of the presence of submarines.

One of the most effective systems developed, however, was that in whicha helicopter, either manned or of the drone type, was flown to the areawhere suspected submarines were operating and the helicopter lowered bya suspended cable either some form of listening device or a sonobuoy, orin the alternative actually dispensed a sonobuoy and listened for itssignals at a remote distance. In this arrangement, two or more sonobuoyswere carried by suspending them under the aircraft by means of a straparrangement, but this method had the disadvantage of utilizing one ofthe two weapon racks on the aircraft, thus reducing its Weaponcapabilities. This form of defensive system worked well for a while, butin time it became antiquated and outmoded due to the increasing numberof newer and faster submarines. With only two sonobuoys aboard thehelicopter a fast submarine could soon move out of range of thesonobuoys listening capability and thus leave the helicopter defenselessagainst other maneuvers. It became apparent, then, that if moresonobuoys were available aboard the helicopter then they could bedispensed over a wider area, resulting in a triangulation on thesubmarine or even a pursuit and further dispensing of the sonobuoys at alater time.

3,529,745 Patented Sept. 22, 1970 ICE With these disadvantages in mindit was decided that a sonobuoy dispenser containing a number of thesedevices located in some form of canister or container would beadvantageous. This arrangement would provide not only a multiple numberof listening devices for deployment, but would also increase the weaponcapability of the aircraft by not utilizing its bomb racks to carry thesonobuoys. Therefore, the present invention offers considerableimprovement over prior art systems in that it provides a dispenser whichcontains at least eight sonobuoys in at least two sizes and includes ameans in which these sonpbuoys are easily and rapidly dispensed from theaircra t.

An object of the invention is the provision of a dispenser for ejectingstores from an aircraft which is airborne.

Another object is the provision of a dispenser which ejects sonobuoysfrom an aircraft in flight.

Another object is the provision of a sonobuoy dispenser which iselectrically operated.

Still another object is the provision of a sonobuoy dispenser whichejects the sonobuoys in sequence.

Yet another object is the provision of a sonobuoy dispenser which isinexpensive to construct and is highly efficient in its operation.

Still another object is the provision of a sonobuoy dispenser whichcontains a plurality of sonobuoys that may be released in sequence,rapidly, one behind the other.

Other objects and :many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof andwherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows the dispenser locatedaboard a helicopter.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the dispenser.

FIG. -3 shows a sectional view of the solenoid and latch mechanism.

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view of the release mechamsm.

FIG. 5 shows a view of the latch mechanism, taken along the line 55 ofFIG. 6.

FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the latch mechanism.

FIG. 7 shows the electrical circuit for releasing the sonobuoys.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now the drawingsthere can be seen in FIG. 1 the manner in which the dispenser is locatedaboard a helicopter. It will be noted that the dispenser is locatedabout midships of the aircraft and that the sonobuoy launch tubes, whichare about four feet in length, are clustered together and standingvertically. Thus, when the release means is activated the sonobuoysslide out of the tubes by gravity and fall directly into the water sincethere is no bottom on the helicopter. Now, turning to FIG. 2, there canbe seen that the overall configuration of the dispenser comprises a rowof smaller sonobuoy launch tubes 11 interspersed between a row of largersonobuoy launch tubes 12, all of them clustered within an outer casing13. In this particular presentation there is shown a row of four smallsonobuoys and four large ones, but it should be understood that theinvention is not limited to eight but there may be more or less as thesituation requires.

Positioned across the bottom of the launch tubes 11 and 12, and forminga part of the trigger mechanism, there is a triangular shaped releasearm 14 which is hinged at one end about a pivot 15. A U-shaped housing16 which forms a support for the pivot is integrally attached to casing13, while positioned around the pivot 15 there is a spiral spring 17which acts to rotate the arm 11 4 when the release is activated. One ofthe components making up the pivot 15 is a plate 18 which is joined torelease 14, one end of plate 18 being U-shaped so as to receive thepivot 15 while the other end of the plate has its corners rounded off(see FIG. 6 for detail).

At the opposite end of release arm 14 from pivot 15 there is located arotatable, arcuate-shaped latch shown generally as and having a longerarm 21 and a short rounded arm 22. The latch 20 is mounted to pivotabout a bolt 23 while one end of a leaf spring 24, which is attached tothe top of release arm 14, is in contact with the short rounded leg 22of the latch to urge it into a clockwise rotation, as seen in the viewof FIG. 5. A cotter pin 25 which extends transversely across the narrowend of release arm 14 not only serves as a structural support forrelease arm 14 but it also serves as a rotational stop for latch 20 whenshorter leg 22 contacts it.

In FIG. 3 there can be seen a view of the solenoid activated latchmeans. The solenoid coil 26 is placed in a housing which is attached tothe sonobuoy casing 113 as at wall 27, the solenoid 26 having anarmature 28 which is rotatively connected to a latch release means 30.Latch release 30 is pivotally connected to the housing by means of abolt 31 and is connected to the solenoids armature 28 at a rotatablepoint 32. In one face of the latch means 30 there is an indentation ornotch 33 which is adapted to receive latch 20 when the release means 14is in its closed position as will be described more fully hereinafter.Positioned below the latch release means 30 and attached to' thesolenoid housing is a safety guard 34 having a horizontally extendedside 35, the safety guard acting to pro tect the solenoid and releasemeans from damage due to handling. Safety guard 34 which is pivotallymounted on the solenoid housing by a bolt 34A, and normally held closedby a spring 19, may be swung open to provide access to the latchreleasing mechanism.

The circuitry utilized to release the sonobuoys, as shown in FIG. 7,consists of a relay 36 which, when activated, causes a stepping switch37 to move sequentially to each of its positions. The positions of thestepping switch in turn are connected to the solenoids 26 located ateach of the bonobuoy containers.

In operation, when it is necessary to release one of the sonobuoys,relay 36 is energized which causes stepping switch 37 to move to one ofits positions, this in turn activating one of the solenoids 26. Whensolenoid 26 is energized it pulls in its armature 28 causing it to moveupward, this in turn through its connection 32 to latch release 30causes latch release 30 to rotate in a clockwise direction about bolt31. The rotation of latch release 30 in a clockwise direction causeslatch 21 to slide out of notch 33. This action results in latch 21rotating slightly in a counter-clockwise direction against the action ofleafspring 24 pressing upon the short leg 22 of latch 20. The releasearm 14 is now free to rotate and the sonobuoy is dispensed by gravityfrom its container 11 causing release arm14 to turn in acounter-clockwise direction about its pivot 15. Once the sonobuoy hascleared the container 11, coil spring 17, which is wound around thepivot 15, causes the release arm 14 to close again thereby moving thelatch 21 back into the notch 33 and it is held in place there by theleafspirng 24. This semi-automatic closing of the sonobuoy containers11, once the sonobuoys have been dispensed, is a desirable feature inthat the release arm 14 is not dangling loose to cause air drag andaerodynamic resistance.

From the above description of the structure and operation of the presentinvention it is obvious that there are presented many improvements overprior art dispensers. The invention thus oifers a simple, inexpensive,almost foolproof, means of dispensing sono buoys which is light inweight and sure of action.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood, that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. An article dispenser comprising:

a plurality of compartments for housing the articles to be dispensed,the compartments being of different sizes and tubular in shape andpositioned vertically;

release means in the form of an arm extending across the bottom of eachcompartment, the arm being pivoted at one end;

resilient means associated with the arm to cause rotation of the armabout the pivot;

a movable latch operatively associated with each arm at an end remotefrom the pivot;

a solenoid connected to the movable latch of each compartment;

a pivotable latch guard partially covering the latch to protect it fromabuse; and

sequentially operating means for sequentially energizing the solenoidswhereby the articles are dispensed from their compartments in sequence.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, PrimaryExaminer D. A. SCHERBEL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

